Poland Leads in EU Shale Gas Promotion
The advancement of shale gas in Poland, particularly the research on development, is advancing at an unprecedented speed, according to a Polish minister.
According to Poland, the development of shale gas across the EU should obtain the status of "a common European project," and that Warsaw was willing to share its experience "in the EU framework". Poland also intends on promoting the development of unconventional gas during its upcoming EU presidency.
Speaking at an event in Brussels organized on Friday, May 6th, by Demos Europe, a think-tank, Maciej Szpunar, under-secretary of state at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the discussion for developing shale gas across Europe was "more timely than ever".
The Fukushima disaster raised question marks over the future development of nuclear energy, and with petrol prices skyrocketing, there was a need for "innovative solutions" and shale gas certainly provided an answer to the challenge, he said.
Shale gas would also decrease Europe's energy dependence and help the EU to achieve its ambitious CO2 reduction goals, Szpunar claimed.
Andrzej Kozłowski, a high-ranking official at Polish oil giant PKN Orlen, said his company had been among the first in Europe to focus on shale gas after the remarkable experience of the US in developing this unconventional fuel.
He argued that the term "unconventional gas" should perhaps be changed, as more than 50% of gas production in the US is expected to come from shale gas by 2030.
But Kozłowski said that "without legislative support on the EU side," even a large company like Orlen would not be able to meet such an ambitious goal.
Changing Perspectives
Marek Karabuła, vice-president of the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGniG) said that despite videos circulating in social media presenting shale gas as a threat to the environment and a danger to consumers, awareness would be raised in Polish society that shale gas is a viable and safe alternative.
Karabuła argued that Poland would be in a much better position to negotiate the price of gas imports from Russia if it were able to crack massive quantities of shale gas at low cost.
He also explained that for the time being, despite significant interest in developing shale gas, only exploratory licenses had been granted in Poland, with no production licenses delivered yet. For production licenses, reserves needed to be proved first.
Source: EurActiv